Method and system for VLAN aggregation
US6914905B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 16, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jul 5, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 8, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L2101/604
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and system for an aggregated virtual local area network (VLAN) architecture in which several VLANs in a network share the same default router address and subnet mask, but remain isolated from one another's network traffic. Instead of the traditional method of assigning one subnet to a VLAN, each VLAN is assigned only a portion of a subnet's IP address space, and is further grouped into a super-VLAN uniquely associated with that subnet. Intra-VLAN traffic is forwarded only to host IP addresses assigned to that same VLAN according to a VLAN identifier carried in the data packet. Inter-VLAN traffic is processed by a virtual router interface which routes the data packet by applying the routing configuration for the subnet uniquely associated with the super-VLAN, according to a super-VLAN identifier carried in the data packet. The routing configuration used by the virtual router interface includes routing protocols, static routes, redundant router protocols and access-lists. Since each VLAN shares the same virtual router interlace, the traditional address overhead of a subnet is minimized, requiring only one default router and subnet mask, as well as only one pair of subnet bro…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.